Hotels, resorts urged to help

AS more tourists flock to the province for summer, the Department of Social Welfare and Development 7 and the Cebu Provincial Police Office Women and Children Protection Center (CPPO-WCPC) are working together with resorts and hotels to put a stop to human trafficking activities. CPPO-WCPC Head Police Senior Insp. Marginette Yosores said that as of January, three cases of trafficking have been recorded, all in northern Cebu.

While this is lower compared to previous recorded cases from 2014 to 2016, she lamented that this is something everyone should worry about. “We had five to six reported cases of trafficking in the province last year. We also had the same number for 2014 and 2015. What’s alarming is that sometimes, the victims may not know that they have already been violated,” Yosores said.

This is because most of the rescued victims met with the perpetrators, who are mostly foreigners, through online chat rooms, she said.

“It may be too late for them to realize that they have been victimized and violated,” Yosores said. Last March 4, agents of the National Bureau of Investigation 7, in coordination with the Provincial Women’s Commission, arrested nine Koreans allegedly involved in sex tourism in Lapu-Lapu City.

The suspects were arrested in a resort hotel in Barangay Marigondon after allegedly tapping a syndicate to hire Filipina women as escorts.

Authorities said transactions were made online at P250,000 per person and the syndicate allegedly has a local contact.

The suspects were charged with violating Republic Act 10364, or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012, but managed to post bail and leave the country.

Yosores urged hotels to comply with Cebu City Ordinance 2163 or the Cebu City Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking. The city ordinance requires establishments to put up a poster or notice against human trafficking, which reads: “Zero Tolerance for Human Trafficking. We will report any suspicious activity and cooperate with the law enforcement in the investigation of cases.”

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